Pamphlet Helps Reduce Binge Drinking

An informational pamphlet on heavy alcohol consumption mailed to interested drinkers reduced their binge drinking by 10 percent, found a Canadian study.

The researchers at the University of Alberta, University of Toronto, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Public Health Agency of Canada provided self-help materials to 877 male and female drinkers — average age 43 — who were recruited from the general population and compared to a control group of 850 drinkers who didn’t receive materials.

The alcohol pamphlets asked respondents to compare their own drinking to the average male or female in the general Canadian population, according to the study published in the journal Addiction.

Many heavy drinkers mistakenly believe that their behavior is more common than it actually is, lead author Dr. Cameron Wild, of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, said in a statement.

By seeing how their alcohol use compares to actual population norms, this can motivate heavy drinkers to re-evaluate their use of alcohol.